I went to school and paid for it myself. I finished with about $18,000 in loans. I had to defefer and now am paying threw garnishment with 9% intest. I now owe almost $48,000. No student can afford this kind debt. Please don’t double the rate no one can afford this insane plan. I suggest we start charging banks fees and intrest for having the pleasure of using our money.

Do NOT even think of increasing the interest rate on even one student past or present.
What is Congress thinking? My checking account gets practically NO INTEREST , yet the banks can use and loan out my direct deposited pension money while it is sitting in my checking account. They make 3-5% …Give our bright students a break. They are our future.

It is time over paid congress take a look at the real world , I would be ashamed to look the people of AMERICA in the face and lie.” Our children ” are the ones who are going to suffer ,I hear education all the time but who can afford to pay the government this kind of interest rate Big Banks ,don’t pay it ,but they butter congresses pocket. STOP THIS INSANITITY and get real .

All I know is I’m drowning as it is in student loans!!! That I didn’t want to begin with!!! I had no choice…I’m paying for my education myself no help from family!!! If the interest rates go up I’ll have to forget about getting my degree…Congress is only interested in their own agenda and not student loans…

I agree with George. I would like to see a new graphic, becuase that blurb doesn’t quite capture it for me either. I do think that most members of Congress actually COULD afford another $1,000 a year when they were in college. Besides the generality that most of our congress members are of affluent backgrounds, tuition was much less expensive two decades ago. It has sky rocketed since I graduated high school in 2001. This issue has GOT to become a priority.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts introduced a bill in the Senate to make the student loan rate the same as what the Federal Reserve charges the banks when it loans them money. Last I heard that was .75%. Congress should stop treating us as if we didn’t matter. Pay special attention to who opposes the reasonable and fair proposals of Senator Elizabeth Warren, and vote them out of office at the next election!

I owe close to $20,000 student loan debt to Sallie Mae and close to $5,000 to Perkins. Due to all my Wife and My Bills I have had to defer my Student loans till eventually I can make a payment. I want to go back to school to become a teacher, its but with the increased tuition possibly increasing its going to be too difficult to just increase my student loans.

Have you ever thought… what is the level of education of Our people who go into the Service….????? THEY HAVE TO KEEP THEM UNDER EDUCATED.SO THAT THEY HAVE.. no PLACE TO MAKE THE MONEY THAT ALL THE SERVICES.PAY.IF YOU dON’T BELIEVE ME….WHY ARE THERE SO MANY HOMELESS SERVICE PEOPLE????? THEY USE THEM AND THEN …JUST THROUGH THEM AWAY!!!!! Also how else would they Fill up the for profit PRISONS…HOW MANY OF THEM ARE UNDER ‘EDUCATED’….~~!

I have twin daughters who went to a university in Boston and even with scholorships, they owe $160,000. and I cosigned loans and am paying 3/4 of them as a 56 year old who works in a social service agency. Both daughters are in grad school and have debts now for that . Initially they were going to contribute half but how can they afford an apartment and school and pay this huge debt? And I will never be able to retire and I fear for when my car goes as that will put me over the edge. With MEFA, they don’t defer or make it income contingent or offer loan forgiveness for public service work. We were not aware of this and were not made aware of this in 2007 when they started school and of course the rate of tuition kept rising. Please help!

I will lose any confidence I have in Congress (and it isn’t much) if it raises the interest rates on student loans to this usurious level. Time and time again, Congress refuses to do the simplest, best, right thing; i.e., raise taxes on the wealthy. DO NOT RAISE THE INTEREST RATE ON STUDENT LOANS!